I know what you’re thinking. “But, Ali, you already made a recipe inspired by Stuart Little’s car.”
Yes, I was thinking that too. But hear me out:
- That was savory, and this is sweet!
- Plus these cupcakes have flavors inspired by rocky road ice cream.
- And they’re topped with a car with a little “S” on the hood and a wee mouse in the driver’s seat. UNBEARABLY CUTE.
- And I really REALLY wanted to make them.
These Stuart Little cupcakes are perfect for a birthday party or baby shower. I made them using my favorite, super-moist chocolate cake batter, marshmallow frosting from a recipe by Lil Luna, and the cutest little marzipan toppers. I loved the idea of developing a recipe with a chocolate/marshmallow/almond flavor combo reminiscent of rocky road, given the car theme. Plus, you can serve them with rocky road ice cream! Too perfect. 😀
My 4-year-old LOVED these. He’s been obsessed with cars since he was a baby, and he got hooked on marzipan after taste-testing the decorations when I made rüeblitorte. Plus, we read Stuart Little together not long before I started this menu (our first chapter book read-aloud! 😭 ), so he loved that he could connect the food to something he knew. Do I sense a theme for his next birthday party?
P.S. My 5-year-old nephew saw me working on this and pointed out you could also make Mario characters to put in the cars. So it turns out these work for a Mario Kart birthday too! Whodathunk? 😀
A
Stuart Little Roadster Cupcakes
“Stuart rose from the ditch, climbed into his car, and started up the road that led toward the north. The sun was just coming up over the hills on his right…the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction.”
— Stuart Little
INGREDIENTS:
- FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 1/2 tbsp sour cream
- 3/4 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- FOR THE FROSTING
- 1/2 cup butter, room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 7 oz marshmallow fluff
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5-7 drops blue gel food coloring
- FOR THE MOUSE/CAR TOPPERS
- 8 oz almond paste
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus extra for kneading
- 1 pasteurized egg white
- 9 drops red gel food coloring
- 48 M&Ms (in matching sets of 4, for the wheels)
- 6 mini fudge stripe cookies, cut in half
- 2 strands from 1 red Pull ‘N Peel Twizzler
- 12 alphabet “S” sprinkles, optional
- 24 almond slices
- 12 black mini sugar pearls (I got mine from Walmart)
- 24 blue sequin sprinkles (also Walmart)
Makes 12 cupcakes
INSTRUCTIONS:
-
- TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES. Preheat oven to 350°. Fill a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. Whisk together all the dry ingredients except the sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter on medium speed in a large bowl. Beat in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Then beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the sour cream and vinegar. Alternate beating in the dry mix and buttermilk.
- Fill the liners half full and bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when firmly tapped with a finger. Transfer to a wire rack until cool.
- TO MAKE THE FROSTING. Add the butter and powdered sugar to a standing mixer and beat until smooth on the lowest speed necessary to keep the powdered sugar from puffing out of the bowl. Beat in the marshmallow fluff, vanilla, and blue gel food coloring. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe swirls onto each cupcake.
- TO MAKE THE TOPPERS. Cut the almond paste into pieces the size of a quarter and add to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until mix has an even, crumbly texture. Add the egg white and mix until well combined.
- Coat a cutting board with powdered sugar and knead the marzipan until it is smooth and there are no clumps, re-sugaring the board as needed. Cut away 6 oz of the marzipan and set aside.
- Knead the red gel coloring into the remaining marzipan until evenly incorporated (I have rubber gloves that I use exclusively for candymaking to keep dye from getting on my hands, but you could also use food-safe disposable gloves or put it in a small bowl and knead in the dye with a fork).
- Cut the red marzipan into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls (about 0.8 oz each, 2 1/8 inches across). Shape each ball into an egg shape, flatten it to half its height, and gently press 2 M&Ms on each side for wheels. Place each car on a cupcake. Insert half a mini fudge stripe into the back of each car (this is the seatback). Cut the Twizzler strands into 1-inch pieces. Shape 1 piece of Twizzler into an upside-down “U” and insert it in the front of the car (this is the steering wheel). If desired, press an alphabet “S” sprinkle onto each car in front of the steering wheel.
- Take your undyed marzipan and shape into 24 balls of equal size (about 0.1 oz each, 5/8 inches across). Place half the balls on the cars between the seat and steering wheel (this is Stuart’s torso). Shape the remaining balls into egg shapes and place on top of the torsos, pressing just enough to adhere (this is Stuart’s head). Place 2 almonds at the back of each head for ears, a black pearl sprinkle on the other end for a nose, and 2 blue sequin sprinkles for eyes.
- Serve to a young mouse who is off to have a grand adventure!
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